Mirror Piece Explained

Mirror Piece
Wikidata:	Q49829654
Artist:	Art & Language Michael Baldwin
Year:	1965
Type:	Installation Painting
Medium:	Mirror, Glass and wood panels
Movement:	Conceptual Art
Museum:	Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art
Owner:	Philippe Méaille

Mirror Piece is a 1965 contemporary art installation by Michael Baldwin, a member of the British conceptual art collective Art & Language.

Description

Mirror Piece is an installation of variable dimensions. It is composed of multiple mirrors of different sizes covered with regular or deforming glass plates, presented on wooden panels.^[1] This installation is accompanied by 13 pages of text and diagrams.^{[2] [3]}

Exhibitions

• Galerie Bruno Bischofberger,^[4] Männedorf, Switzerland
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art,^{[5] [6]},.^[7]
• Château de MontsoreauMuseum of Contemporary Art,^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]} Montsoreau, France.

Critical analysis

This installation, one of the first ones of the Art & Language collective, replaces the surface of a painting with mirrors. It allows us to discuss, among other things, the theme of representation as well as the place and role of the spectator in the work of art. The mirror, being a surface that reflects light without its own image, the artists will say of this gesture:

The mirror being in the place of what should be a painting, the spectator sees himself looking at a work of art^[13] and the recent practice of selfies has greatly contributed to the popularity of Mirror Piece.^[14]

Bibliography

• Matthew Jesse Jackson et Art & Language, Art & Language Reality (Dark) Fragments (Light) Philippe Méaille Collection, Château de Montsoreau-musée d'Art contemporain, 2018
• Art & Language, Carles Guerra, Matthew Jesse Jackson, Bartomeu Marí, Philippe Méaille, Art & Language Uncompleted. The Phillipe Méaille Collection, Musée d'art contemporain de Barcelone, 2014,

Notes and References

1. Book: Reality (Dark) Frangments (Light). 2018. Château de Montsoreau. 9782955791721. Montsoreau. 21. fr, en.
2. Peynot. Jean-Philippe. January 2017. Art & Language empêcheurs de tourner en rond. Art Press. fr, en. 34. 0245-5676.
3. Book: Bailey, Robert. 2016-05-19. Duke University Press. 978-0-8223-7412-1. en.
4. Book: Silverman van Coenegrachts, Jill . Art & Language - Made in Zurich. Rod . Mengham . Philippe . Méaille. 2015. Editions Bernard Jordan. 978-3-00-047269-5. Paris. 86. fr.
5. Gonçalves Cepeda. Rui. 20 May 2011. Barcelona Gains Art & Language collection. Art Newspaper. en.
6. News: Bosco. Roberta. 2015-03-05. Philippe Méaille dona al Macba seis obras del colectivo Art & Language. El País. es. 2017-08-06.
7. Web site: Philippe Méaille deposita 800 obras de Art & Language en el MACBA. 29 March 2011. Hoyesarte.com. es.
8. Web site: Coleccionista retira su colección del MACBA por la inestabilidad política de Catalunya. e24diari. es. 2019-05-16.
9. News: Montañés. José Ángel. 2017-10-13. El Macba afirma que la seguridad de sus obras está garantizada. El País. es. 1134-6582. 2019-05-16.
10. Ariane James-Sarazin. February 2016. Philippe Méaille. Revue aller-retour de l'artothèque d'Angers. fr. 76–p.83. 2418-2311.
11. Book: Stephanie Cristello. Foreword Art & Language: A Conquest. September 2016. Expo Chgo. Chicago. 2. en.
12. Web site: La collection. Château de Montsoreau-Musée d'Art Contemporain. fr-FR. 2019-05-16.
13. Book: Ann Stephen, Keith Broadfoot et Andrew McNamara. Mirror Mirror then and now. 2009. Institut of modern art. 978-1-875792-67-2. Australia. 86. en.
14. Web site: Art & Language: Conceptual art, mirrors and selfies -TateShots. Tate. Tate. en-GB. 2019-05-16.